A horse has been killed after breaking loose from a field and being hit by a car on a busy Moray road.
Four horses escaped and got onto the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road, between Elgin and Forres, early on Hogmanay.
One was hit by a car, and it took several hours for the other terrified beasts to be rounded up and led to safety.
Police were called to the scene at about 6am, and shut off a lane of the road by the Aldroughty junction while they dealt with the incident.
It is believed the horses belonged to Albert Anderson, and are being kept in a field adjacent to Elgin’s Eight Acres Hotel.
A police spokesman confirmed: “Officers received a call at around 6.15am reporting that a group of four horses had escaped from a nearby field.
“There were reports that a car hit one of the horses and the rest of them ran off into a wooded area.
“The road was partially closed as police waited for the owners to arrive at the scene.
“The horse that was struck by the car had to be put down, and we received confirmation of its death at 9.45am.”
The incident was not the first in recent times where escaped horses had caused havoc on the A96 road.
In July, motorists on the route between Aberdeen and Elgin got a surprise when a runaway horse joined a stream of busy traffic.
The animal, which was believed to have escaped from a nearby farm, was spotted in the Keith area and was later caught by police officers near the town’s Land Street.